Nashik: Abdul Karim Telgi, the kingpin of infamous multi-crore fake stamp paper must be smiling in his grave. For a change, he has got a relief from a court on Monday.
The Nashik sessions court in Maharashtra has acquitted him and seven others in a 2004 multi-crore fake stamp paper case in absence of “solid evidence” against them.
Telgi, who was convicted in several cases in connection with the scam and sentenced to imprisonment of 30 years in total, died in Bengaluru in October last year while serving his jail term.
The CBI had contended that the accused, including the officers and constables of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), colluded with Telgi by selling him stamp papers by opening sealed packets when they were transported to the Nashik railway yard from the city-based India Security Press, said defence advocate M Y Kale.
These stamp papers were meant to be dispatched to treasuries of various state governments.
ISP, located in Nashik, is tasked with printing passports, visas, postage stamps, post cards, inland letters, envelopes, non-postal adhesives, court fees, fiscal, and Hundi stamps in the country.
Besides Telgi, other accused acquitted Monday are identified as RPF officials Rambhau Pawar, Brijkishore Tiwari, Vilaschandra Joshi, Dyaneshwar Barke, Pramod Dahage, Mohammed Sarvar and Vilas More.
Telgi had printed fake stamp papers allegedly in connivance with government officials and politicians, and sold them to banks, stock brokerage firms and insurance companies.
